For the second year running, artificial intelligence (AI) was the hottest topic in the world of customer experience (CX) in 2019.

You don’t have to look far to find major players touting AI-driven CX as the next big thing. For example, IBM recently published a report which predicts that AI will unleash a new approach to CX strategy, design and development. IBM calls the shift a ‘seismic’ one, comparing it to the changes that were ushered in during the 1990s at the advent of the internet.

Software-as-a-Service provider of voice, video, chat, contact centre and enterprise-class API solutions 8x8 announced this month that it had received a 2019 CRN Tech Innovator Award.

8x8 was recognised for its contact centre solution which includes ACD, IVR, omnichannel, dialer, reporting, customer journey analytics, quality management, speech analytics, surveys and knowledge base, all delivered on one unified platform.

If your company is not already stepping up its security, now might be a good time to start because four out of every five (81%) of consumers say they would stop engaging with a brand online following a data breach.

This was a key finding from security company Ping Identity’s (NYSE: PING) 2019 Consumer Survey: Trust and Accountability in the Era of Breaches and Data Misuse report published this month.

Last month, professional services firm KPMG published its annual Customer Experience Excellence Report 2019, which surveyed 2503 Australian consumers for their views of the performance of 114 domestic and global brands operating Down Under.  

SYDNEY — October 28, 2019 — Ping Identity (NYSE: PING), a pioneer in Intelligent Identity, today released results from its 2019 Consumer Survey: Trust and Accountability in the Era of Breaches and Data Misuse.  The results expose how today’s environment—ripe with data misuse and large-scale security breaches — is impacting Australian consumer behaviour and relationships with service providers around the world.

Global big tech companies have dipped their toes in the water with payments and some in China are now expanding into the provision of credit, insurance, savings and other investment products, either directly or in cooperation with established financial institutions.

With the exception of Netflix, the so-called FAANG companies (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google) and their Chinese counterparts BAT (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent), are all exploring or offering financial services.

Personas and empathy mapping are CX tools which share the common goal of helping you to better understand your customers. As the importance of highly personalised and even predictive experiences rises across channels, the ability to leverage these tools is becoming critically important.

2019 Local Government Customer Experience Insights Report Reveals Key CX Issues Facing Local Government 

Three quarters of residents are satisfied with the recent contact they have had with their council, according to new research carried out by Fifth Quadrant. The report outlines which councils had the highest satisfaction percentage, and as it turns out also had the highest first contact resolution (FCR) rate. The study suggests that FCR continues to be a crucial metric within the realm of local council customer experience (‘CX’).

Security is the number one concern for organisations looking to commence their digital transformation journeys via migration to the cloud, according to global cybersecurity experts.

Speaking at a Zscaler-hosted lunch event attended by Fifth Quadrant last week, Alex Woerndle, who is an analyst at Ecosystm and on the Board of the Australian Information Security Association, said that organisations need to move away from this outdated view.

I recently had what I would call a great omni-channel customer experience. We often talk about CX in terms of positive experiences, but the truth is, when things go wrong, this is precisely the moment companies have an opportunity to shine.

My case involved a bed frame which I bought from a large online furniture retailer. The checkout, payment and shipping process was all smooth and quick, which is expected these days.